313 Caroline Street
The family home of William and Ernestine Richard
Herkimer county, NY

Below are four pictures of my grandparent's house. I was quite small when my grandmother sold this house to move to be closer to her sister in Rome, NY. However, I have some strong memories of this home, just the same. We usually came in through the side door. There was a dark dirt floor basement with a low ceiling that you could access from this side door. When you entered the house from this side door you came in near the kitchen. It was small and had an older style porcelon sink. Off the kitchen was a small porch.

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Front

Front

Back

Inside

Pictures Taken about 1945from Marilyn Synnestvedt

I stayed with my grandmother for a week once when I was about 6 years old. We ate breakfast on the porch every morning (she always kept bananas for me, as that was my favorite fruit). There was a small office space under the stairs near the front door and the living room / parlor, was filled with several tall floor lamps and over stuffed chairs. There was a sun room off the parlor on the side of the house where most of the old toys were kept including a wonderful doll house that my grandfather had made for his children. Behind the living room was a dining room that had a big old blackboard (wood framed, school house size) that hung on the wall, always stocked with chalk). There was also a tall dresser in this room which always had a candy dish on top that I couldn't reach! The second story had several bedrooms and a tiny sewing room. My grandmother's bedroom was very bright with lots of light from windows. The third floor was a finished attic The stairs had no handrails and were very small and went up in a tight circle or corner as you reached the top. At the top though, was a fascinating world for a child! It was lined with several rows of low built-in bookcases with a window at either end (were there more?). The floor was painted wood, same color as the bookcases. The ceiling sloped tent-like to a peak in the center. Along the bookcases were old National Geographics and some old board games. We weren't allowed up there very often or for very long, as my grandmother was afraid that I'd fall down the stairs. The house itself always impressed me as being "old" and holding "old" things in it! My memories are child memories and now bring a wonderful feeling of nostalgia to me when I relive them through pictures and stories of my grandparent's home!